HARLINGEN — Brownsville Pace had seven first-half possessions during its District 16-5A DI game against Harlingen South on Friday at Boggus Stadium.
The Vikings’ first two drives resulted in points after a field goal and 81-yard touchdown run by Juan Velez. Then, the sky came crashing down.
Harlingen South’s defense proceeded to force a safety and recover four fumbles on consecutive drives to close the first half. The Hawks scored 33 unanswered to run away with a 33-10 victory over the Vikings.
“I think we haven’t put together a complete game yet,” Harlingen South head coach Israel Gonzalez said. “We’ve had some struggles on the offensive side of the ball — turnovers, penalties, some touchdowns again called back. We did a good job of coming out in the second half and playing Hawk football, but we need to put four quarters together. Our goal is to get better each and every week, and learn from our mistakes. We got some stuff we got to go fix, and we have to put four quarters together to be able to compete in our district.”
Linebacker Caleb Anaya came away with two first-half fumble recoveries, and Ethan Garza and Gilbert Lerma had one each.
South running backs Carlos Mossboss and David Sanchez took advantage of short fields after Pace fumbles to run for touchdowns and a 16-10 halftime lead.
The Hawks forced one more turnover during the second half as Andrew Luna recovered another fumble.
“Our defense is the stronghold of our football team, and it’s been that way since the beginning of the year. They’re continuing to play tremendous and giving us opportunities,” Gonzalez said. “They’re doing what they’re supposed to be doing on that side of the football, and we need to continue to get better and grow on the offensive side of the ball.”
South quarterback Dylan Anaya scored on a 5-yard touchdown run, and receivers Desmond Cano and Jacob Cano connected for a score on a trick play to seal the deal.
Pace’s Juan Velez led the Vikings with 88 yards rushing and one touchdown.
Next for Harlingen South is a District 16-5A DI contest against Donna North at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Bennie LaPrade Stadium in Donna.
Brownsville Pace moves on to face crosstown rival Brownsville Lopez at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Sams Memorial Stadium in Brownsville.